


metro minute

by jinsoulcial



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: F/F, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:15:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23167609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jinsoulcial/pseuds/jinsoulcial
Summary: New to the hustle-bustle of the city, Hyunjin finally flows into an ordinary routine with commuting around town to her university and other places city-life has to offer through the vehicle of the metro train. Coping with a recent heartbreak from a long relationship, she finds her heart panging in loneliness while staring out the window during her commutes. That is until multiple fateful encounters with a girl on the metro train wake her out of her lull and help her remember how love feels like one minute at a time.//This story is based on real-life events: a chance encounter on the mundane travels taken on the metro rail.These two girls (members of LOONA) and an idea (daydreaming on the metro, really) has been circulating in my head nearly a year ago. Here’s to saying farewell toward a possible timeline which is unattainable today, but -- I believe -- it’s for a reason that I will never know.
Relationships: Jeon Heejin/Kim Hyunjin, Jung Jinsol | Jinsoul/Kim Hyunjin
Kudos: 9





	1. 0th Hour

**_0th Hour , 18:10 in the evening._ **

The sound of church bells rings in her ears.

The wind surrounds her in its chilly embrace.

_I’m living._

_I’m alive._

The people nearby began to shift in place as the train makes its way here. Faint chatter and musty odor from the city streets bring her surroundings to life.

 _I know she would’ve hated taking the metro_ , Hyunjin chuckle to myself. 

Suddenly she frowns as soon as Hyunjin realizes that her mind had drifted to _her_ once more.

Loosening the ribbon wrapped around her white blouse in discomfort, she continues to wait among the crowd of passengers for the train. It’s been a couple of weeks taking the metro and adapting to the daily flow of the city. A new routine, a new town, a new beginning. Hyunjin moved out here for a reason… to find a fresh start and forget about her long relationship with a girl whom she loved to death. 

_Jeon Heejin._ Hyunjin sighs again and bites her lip in frustration.

_I could never get the thought of her out of my mind._

_All of our firsts… Our first kiss in the dark inside her car. Our first night together under the warmth of her covers. And then our lasts… Our last kiss, which was so long ago I couldn’t even remember. Our last words together…_

“I-I don’t think I’m in love with you anymore,” were our last words.

She felt her heart clench itself as Hyunjin absent-mindedly look past the train rails across the platform she stood on. Finding herself so numb to this recent heartbreak, the only thing left for her to do is proactively move on from her past with Heejin. As much as she was initially excited to be moving up in the world, her life was still filled with loneliness with Heejin missing from it.

 _I’m alive, but without her I feel as if I don’t have a life._ Hyunjin sighs, the weight of these words she shamelessly thought to herself stung her wounded heart.

Sounds of the train approaching the platform reorients her back to reality, as it screeches to a halt and bursts its doors open to release a crowd of people out.

Hyunjin moves along with the crowd she was waiting with and then took a seat near the window. As the train moves through the city, the sun gradually descends.

Her heart continues to pang in silence, feeling lonely despite being engulfed by the silent crowd of passengers on this train.


	2. 1st Hour

**_1st Hour , 08:03 in the morning._ **

She huffed with frustration. Hyunjin woke up late, missing her regular train by an entire hour. As swift as she could be, she checked the time on her watch while struggling to run in the shoes she’s stamped her feet into.

Her phone beeps and she rushes to answer it, not caring who it can be since she’s more focused on catching her train in time for her lecture.

“Hyunjin speaking,” she answers as she’s panting and jogging towards the train platform.

// Hey, girlie. It’s me, Vivi. //

“Oh hey. I know, I’m running late…”

Hyunjin finally reaches the platform and releases a breath of relief for not having to run after an arriving train. Clearly hearing Hyunjin’s huffing breaths, her friend laughed in endearment.

// Yeah. No need to rush. The professor is running late, they’ll be coming in an hour from now. Just wanted to let you know. //

Hyunjin had never been more thankful and let out another sigh of relief.

“Wow. You literally saved me from dying out of anxiety and exhaustion!” She hears Vivi snort in response.

// Yes, which means you owe me a soy latte. //

Hyunjin rolls her eyes as she curtly smiles, “I’ll be sure to get you one.”

// Love you. Bye-bye. //

Dial tone rings through her ears.

“Ok, great. Another stop! Just glad I don’t need to rush..!” Hyunjin sighs as she relaxes against the wall at the nearest empty space among the crowd of morning commuters.

She grabbed her earphones and popped them in as the rate of her breathing calmed down. Hyunjin took this tiny moment of time as an opportunity to observe her surroundings, which was a fun way to pass time. Heejin got her into it, actually. People watching and seeing strangers at their truest nature whenever they’re outside an environment with expectations for them to fulfill. It was how Hyunjin began falling in love with this down to earth girl. 

Although the sweet thought of her brought her to crack a smile, Hyunjin felt her heartbeat intensify in emotional pain. As the corners of her mouth subconsciously frown, Hyunjin’s line of vision suddenly becomes drawn to the girl standing next to her and her river of blond hair cascading down kurt shoulders.

Her breath hitches in her throat.

The girl before her pushed her wire-glasses up her nose and sighed, apparently deep in thought. She was dressed in a light gray blouse tucked in wrinkled fitted black slacks. As Hyunjin gazed at her beauty in awe, she stood before her with a concentrated stare into the air in front of her. Her earphones dangled with her gentle sway, while the slight gust of wind gingerly rustled her blonde locks around. 

Hyunjin’s senses were overloaded at this young woman’s soft glowing skin and her focused eyes peering ahead, not returning Hyunjin’s admiring gaze. 

The gush of wind from the chiming train arriving brought her back to reality, Hyunjin suddenly realizing her mouth was slightly open and her frozen statue. She watched the blonde snap herself out of her deep thoughts and suddenly return her gaze. 

Hyunjin gasped and shly looked away as she sped her way to the train and made her way to the first available seat her eyes landed on. To check on whether the mystery woman had boarded the train, she briefly turned back to be met by her gaze again, this time being greeted by the blonde’s gleam in her eye and a tiny polite grin.

She watched her eyes dart away and sit rows in front of her before she could say anything.

Catching the train an hour later than usual was a different experience for Hyunjin. Normally she’d end up standing among the ever-growing number of people who’d pile inside the train car. The early morning fog would obscure most of the city scenery, so she’d find herself fumbling on her phone.

Although this particular commute to work left Hyunjin the opportunity to view the buildings rush by in the windows and take in the bask of sunlight streaming in, she couldn’t help but keep her gaze on the back of the blonde’s head with her soft hair glistening in the rays of sunlight. Hyunjin gingerly observed how this blonde's head bobbed along with the rhythm of the metro trains movement. Hyunjin felt like she were under a spell by this stranger.

Noticing it was almost her stop, she slowly stood, her eyes still trained on this girl who also got to her feet. Hyunjin carefully made her way to the exit of the doors amongst a handful of people also getting off at this stop. They all melded nearby each other as it was a lot of people getting off and staying on. The blonde stood a couple of people in front of her. Hyunjin was only able to notice her in the blend of people due to her long legs. 

A beat after the train halted to a stop, the doors sprung open and the surge of the crowd carried Hyunjin out. She checked the time but mostly didn’t care about how late she was. She looked up from her watch and spotted the girl still in her line of vision striding away.

Hyunjin watched the girl enter into a building, which prompted her to slow her pace. She peeked out the corner of her eye while walking straight toward her university building. Through the clear glass walls, she saw the blonde’s back slowly grow out of sight as they both walk away towards their daytime obligations.

She was amazed at how she’s only seen her here at this moment, their commute aligns perfectly but still haven’t crossed paths until today… And it was only because she was running an hour late for her lecture. Any minute earlier or later, she wouldn’t have caught the same metro train as her.


	3. 2nd Hour

**_2nd Hour , 16:11 at this late afternoon._ **

Loosening the buttons of her uniform shirt collar, Hyunjin took purposeful strides through the double-doors of her university building, peering through its glossy glass toward the building right across. The bright sun rays bounce off that buildings window-paned walls and into Hyunjin’s eyes once she stepped outside. 

With a little squint and a couple of steps out of the light, Hyunjin caught a glimpse of golden locks and squinted to notice it wasn’t the girl from this morning. The owner of the bright hair turned to reveal a different face not belonging from the beauty she saw earlier this morning.

Hyunjin simply stood and sighed.

“I guess we won’t be taking the same train together then, huh,”

She looked at the time and simultaneously received a text message. The sweet name,  _ Jeon Heejin _ , flashed on the screen. She could never delete her phone number. She only had the courage to delete the heart emojis and delete her contact from her favorites group. 

Even more pitiful, Hyunjin is suddenly conscious of all of the photos she took of her and with her still existing inside her phone.

Although it was easy to erase memories of a person on the phone, Hyunjin knew the years of memories she created with Heejin couldn’t be taken to the trash can with the same ease as the delete button.

She bit her lip and headed for the train station a block away.

Today she couldn’t see the beautiful girl from this morning again.

It’s as if the memory of falling in love instantly was something her subconscious fabricated to make up for the void Heejin left after their break up.

The bells of the train awakened her from deep thought.  _ Crap, the train’s already here. _

As Hyunjin’s legs began to sprint toward the train like an after-thought, the train’s early arrival took her clouded mind off of Heejin and the girl who might’ve been a figment of her imagination.

Although she couldn’t forget the tear-stained face Heejin had the last memories of her, Hyunjin sped through the doors sliding close, forgetting to scan her metro card.

**Author's Note:**

> Written Draft Date(s): night of 08 / 02 / 2019  
> Typed and Continued On: evening of 03/15/2020  
> Completed Date: highly unlikely to finish this story :-(


End file.
